Shloka 14
Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna
The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts
भीष्म उवाच शृगालो वानरं प्राह पुनरेव नरोत्तम । कि त्वया पातकं कर्म कृतं येनासि वानर:,भीष्मजी कहते हैं--नरश्रेष्ठत इसके बाद सियारने वानरसे पुनः पूछा--“तुमने कौन- सा पाप किया था? जिससे वानर हो गये?”
bhīṣma uvāca | śṛgālo vānaraṃ prāha punar eva narottama | ki tvayā pātakaṃ karma kṛtaṃ yenāsi vānaraḥ ||
بھیشم نے کہا— اے نرِ برتر! اس کے بعد گیدڑ نے بندر سے پھر پوچھا— “تم نے کون سا پاتک (گناہ) کیا تھا کہ تم بندر بن گئے؟”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions have consequences: the verse explicitly links a degraded state (becoming a monkey) to pātaka-karma (sinful conduct), prompting ethical self-examination and accountability.
Within Bhishma’s discourse, a jackal questions a monkey about the specific sin that caused his transformation, setting up a moral explanation (often in fable-like form) about wrongdoing and its results.